'For 16 months Israel has been fighting a deranged terrorist organization that places no value on human life,' Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon says
Israelis pay respects as bodies of four Hamas hostages return in coffins
Fox News' Greg Palkot reports the latest on the release from Tel Aviv.
The bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas and Oded Lifshitz were returned to Israel more than 500 days after the four of them were taken hostage. Hamas, though, was not finished disrespecting and using the hostages.
Coffins containing the remains of the four murdered Israeli hostages were put on display in a ceremony that has been nearly universally condemned. The four coffins were laid out on stage in front of a grotesque caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a banner that read in English, "The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes."
On the coffin allegedly containing Shiri Bibas there was a photo of the young mother next to the words "arrest date" and the date of the Oct. 7 attacks. At the time of this writing, Israel has only confirmed the identity of Lifshitz.
L-R: Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)
HAMAS HANDS OVER BODIES OF 4 SLAIN ISRAELIS, INCLUDING SHIRI BIBAS AND HER TWO YOUNG BOYS
"Under international law, any handover of the remains of [the] deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families," the United Nations Geneva tweeted, attributing the quote to High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Türk’s condemnation of the Hamas ceremony, however, rang hollow for many who pointed out the U.N.’s reluctance to condemn the terror organization by name.
"Hamas parading four coffins onstage to music is evil and depraved," Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"For 16 months, Israel has been fighting a deranged terrorist organization that places no value on human life, especially if it is Israeli or Jewish— all while international institutions like the UN refrained from condemning Hamas and formally demanding the immediate return of our hostages."
Israeli Permanent Member to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during a session of the Security Council at the New York City headquarters. (Israel United Nations mission)
On Oct. 7, 2023, Türk put out a statement that appeared to equate Hamas’ attacks with Israel’s response, saying he was "shocked and appalled" by the violent attacks and condemning Israel’s response.
Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President and Human Rights Voice Anne Bayefsky accused Türk of being "one of the leading drivers of Palestinian terrorism and global antisemitism in the world today."
"He [Türk] personifies the use and abuse of ‘human rights’ as a front to perpetrate evil. He has blood on his hands," Bayefsky told Fox News Digital. "Volker Türk - the UN's top human rights official - is a human rights fraud who has more concern for Jews after death than saving Jewish lives from Palestinian savagery before they've perished."
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk holds a press conference in Damascus, Syria Jan. 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar)
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United Nations watchdog organization UN Watch called for Türk’s resignation in its December 2024 report showing that the human rights commissioner condemned the U.S. more than China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined. The organization also accused Türk of focusing on the Jewish state.
"Türk was obsessed with condemning Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, making 58 condemnations during the past two years, with 49 on the Hamas-Israel war. To put this in perspective, over the same two years, the Maduro regime in Venezuela was criticized only 4 times," the report reads.
After the Oct. 7 attacks, Shiri Bibas and her sons, Kfir and Ariel, became symbols of Hamas’ brutality. The image of a terrified mother holding her 4-year-old and 9-month-old quickly spread around the world. Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the father of Kfir and Ariel, was taken captive separately and was ultimately released from Gaza on Feb. 1.
In addition to the bodies of the Bibas family and Lifshitz, Israel is preparing to receive six living hostages on Saturday as part of its ongoing ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
